Once Upon A Time
by ImprobableButNotImpossible
Summary: He held her because that was all he could do. After all even having all the power he did, no man alive was strong enough to stop time.
1. Prologue

Title: Once Upon A Time...

Rating: K

Pairings: SesshomaruxKagome InuyashaxKikyo SangoxMiroku

All Human

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

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~Prologue~

Once upon a time...

Like every good fairytale there exists an untouchable prince and a defying peasant. And we all know what happens next, right? They fall in love ,of course...but not before enduring obstacles that challenge that oh so supposed love.

So, in the far away majestic mountains of the West laid the palace where our Prince Sesshomaru resided. Silver long locks rolled down his back with eyes as brilliant and golden as the sun and snow white skin, he was to say in one word, "perfect". He was indeed the most handsome prince of all four nations, but the most, shall we say, misunderstood. Perceived as 'cold' and 'emotionless', it was no wonder he had no wife, despite his celestial looks.

Now in the dark depths of the village just below the mountains of the West lived our peasant Kagome. Raven black hair reaching to the small of her back, she was like every other human except for her stunning cerulean blue eyes. Eyes that shone brilliantly, complimenting her ever-present smile. She was that happy-go-lucky girl that everyone loved. Indeed, she was loved by all those that kept her company.

So our tale now begins as these two opposites of the world shall soon meet.

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A/N: Arigato for reading!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha.

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~The Damsel In Distress~

Kagome ran as fast as her legs would take her. She hadn't meant to steal from the marketplace but she was just _so_ hungry. A couple of days without food had weakened her and her eyes strained to find something...anything that could help her. She could hear the men's fastening footsteps as they got closer to her. Taking a quick corner in hopes of losing the men she ran smack dab into something hard.

Not having the strength to get back up she stared at what she ran into with blurry eyes. She was able to make out a face frowning and golden eyes before she succumbed to her fate.

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Sesshomaru looked down at the _thing_ that had slammed into him. Turns out the thing was a girl...no, a peasant. Dirty, clumsy, and absolutely horrid smelling, Sesshomaru was prepared to leave her there when he saw some men advancing towards the fallen peasant. His eyes narrowed as he saw the furious anger raging in their eyes. Despite the fact that there was nothing good about the peasant currently unconscious at his feet, his honor would not allow him to leave a lady in danger...no matter how appealing the idea seemed.

Heaving a sigh, Sesshomaru's lips turned down as he realized what he was about to do. With reluctance, Sesshomaru leaned down and scooped up the girl into his arms. He shuffled her a bit until she was comfortably situated. Pining a glare, that was now named his infamous 'ice glare', at the men, he reveled in the fear and recognition that presented itself in their eyes. They wouldn't dare defy him, Prince Sesshomaru of the West.

With a swish of royal white he turned and walked away with his head held high as only those with regal upbringings knew.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Until next time my wonderful readers! :)


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha.

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~Thank you~

Sesshomaru sighed for the umpteenth time as he waited for the girl to awake. When he had brought her to the palace, he had a maid bathe her and put her in clean clothes. His father had stated since he was the one to bring her here, he needed to take responsiblity for her. So he was trying to patiently wait for her to wake so he could go get lunch. He had intended to get breakfast with her but she had still been asleep so he left her be. Since he knew how unhealthy it was to miss two meals, he had planted himself in a chair beside her bed in the guest chamber. And now here he was...waiting. He sighed again.

o0o

_"No. NO. NO! Get away from me! I didn't do anything..." Kagome uselessly screamed at the men advancing towards her. Their faces were hungry with lust as their grubby hands reached for her. She cringed against the wall trying to shrink into it. Their hands came closer...closer._

"NO!"Kagome shot up with her heart trying to race out of her chest. Her eyes shot around the unfamiliar room searching for the men. Her breathing was sporadic as fear from the dream still captured her. A hand clamped onto her shoulder making her shriek.

o0o

Sesshomaru cringed at the awful sound that escaped her lips. She had just shot up with wild eyes and black hair whipping around her like a madwoman; her eyes scanned the room as if she expected a murderer. He had seen the panic and raw fear in her eyes and was trying to comfort her, but it seemed like his actions only caused her fear to triple.

"Shut up!" Sesshomaru hissed out as she continued her scream. She immediately quieted as she jerked her shoulder away from him and huddled in the the farthest corner of the bed. She looked like a child with the blankets pulled to her chin and her wide eyes. He realized his harshness as liquid formed in the recesses of her eyes. He sighed as he forcibly caused his voice to be softer.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Sesshomaru placated. The girl blinked. His brow twitched in irritation. He tried another approach. "Would I honestly go through the trouble of saving you, just to hurt you?" He questioned. He saw the emotions, like a movie, pass through her, so blue, eyes and he couldn't help but be fascinated at how open and _childlike_ she seemed. He had been taught from a very young age that emotion was weakness and weakness was unacceptable for a soon-to-be-king.

o0o

_Golden eyes._ Recognition lit her mind as she remembered the very eyes looking back at her, as the ones she ran into yesterday, or had it been longer than that? She dropped the blanket as she crawled her way back to where the man was. She stuck out her hand as she said with a radiant smile, "My name is Kagome Higurashi; thank you for saving my life."

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A/N: Okay so this chapter I'm not happy about at all. Ah well. Oh and instead of using the line breaks to switch between Kagome and Sesshomaru I'm gonna start using "o0o" because it's easier. Sorry about taking so long to update, no inspiration. Anyways, thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha.

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~Say what?~

She stared at the hot meal in front of her uncertainly. It had been such a long time since she had something decent and this looked so _nice._ It was some kind of red soup with delicious looking vegetables that smelled absolutely appetizing. She, unconsciously, licked her lips at the very thought of this nice warm soup filling up her stomach. Her hands itched to just grab the bowl and slurp the whole thing down. Then her eyes lifted to the reason she hadn't ravenously eaten the meal.

The reason being the _awkward_ male in front of her. Never before had she met someone who was so _odd_. Or someone who was so inept at conversation or so called "small talk". When she had introduced herself, he had simply stared at her as if she was an imbecile or something. She had lowered her hand in embarrassment when he had simply looked at it as if it was diseased. _Which it wasn't. _The guy didn't even introduce himself and he had this arrogant air around him which just screamed I'm-so-much-better-than-you. Which brought her back to her dilemma. The guy hadn't even touched his meal but was staring, quite boldly, at her. The question was _why was he staring at her?_

Her tongue came out again to lick her dry lips and she watched as his eyes followed the motion. Her heart thudded as her eyes caught his. _Such a lovely gold._

"_Ahem."_

The cough caused Kagome and Sesshomaru to both turn towards the noise; effectively breaking their intense gaze. Kagome was guessing it was the cook by her attire.

"I am sorry to have interrupted but I was just inquiring if the meal was to your liking, Prince Sesshomaru. You have not tasted it."

Kagome's mind literally spun in circles as she tried to comprehend the cook's words. _Sesshomaru? _The name rung a bell in the back of her head. Then the rest of the words sunk in. _Prince Sesshomaru? _There was only one other person in here other than her and the cook. _Oh no. _Kagome looked to the cook and saw her bowing to...the guy in front of her. _Oh heck no._

_Mr. Awkward was a PRINCE?_

"Hn."

_Hn? The heck did that mean? Was that even a word? _Kagome could literally feel her left eyebrow twitching as she had information overload. The cook seemed to have left at _Sesshomaru's_ "word". Kagome gulped as she turned a meek gaze to the prince.

"I, ah, so you're a prince?"

Her words came out more as a squeak than anything. She was ashamed to admit that she was so disrespectful to the PRINCE! No wonder he had the whole mighty act thing going on. She had heard so many rumors about Prince Sesshomaru. The most handsome prince of all four nations. They had said he was the untouchable prince. Curiosity bubbled up inside of her as she remembered his early attitude.

Surely a prince, PRINCE, who had wealth, power, and women should be happier. So why was he such a sour puss? Kagome boldly stared into Sesshomaru's golden eyes trying to discover an answer to her question.

"Yes."

The single word was sharp yet emotionless. It kind of scared her and interested her at how enigmatic he was. Of every fairy tale she was told as a child, princes were supposed to be happy and well _just happy!_

Kagome saw the tiniest hint of curiosity in Sesshomaru's eyes as he spoke again.

"Surely you have heard of me."

She could've rolled her eyes at his arrogant words, but she held back. She contemplated what to say. She could feign ignorance and see his reaction that there was someone in the world that didn't know of the 'great Prince Sesshomaru' or she could be honest. A mischievous twinkled appeared in her eyes making them even bluer.

"Nope."

She spoke the word flippantly as if they were just talking about the weather. She could see a flash of annoyance in his eyes and she did a mental victory dance. Immediately though, his face was emotionless and he turned his eyes away from hers.

"Eat. Your meal is getting cold."

Kagome's eyes scrunched in confusion at his abrupt change of subject. She stayed like that for a couple minutes gouging Sesshomaru's actions. Sesshomaru had started on his meal and before Kagome could help it, a growl escaped her stomach.

"Hehe." Kagome laughed sheepishly as she turned to the soup in front of her. As eloquently as she could, she devoured her meal. In a matter of minutes, the soup was finished and she released a satisfied sigh. She smiled a content smile only to see Sesshomaru's expression.

It was one of horror and _disgust? Oops. _Kagome realized too lately that Sesshomaru had barely started his soup and her bowl was squeaky clean. Her lips curled into a sheepish smile.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sesshomaru was horrified at the manners of this girl. She had finished her bowl in mere seconds! His horror quickly vanished into blankness. It was only to be expected of someone living on the streets. Also, she had probably had not had a decent meal in a while considering the condition he had found her in. He was going to repute her for consuming her meal so fast but quickly bit back the rebuke. He merely casted her a glance and turned back to his soup. He made sure to take tiny elegant sips as he had been instructed when he was but a child.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kagome couldn't help the envy that shot hot and fiery through her. How could one man make eating look _elegant?_ She stared, unabashed, at him till he was done. He finished with a neat brush of his napkin over his lips to wipe away any soup that may have been left on his lips. _FYI, there wasn't any._

Kagome stared at him as he pined his eyes on her.

"Kagome," she suppressed the slight shiver that raced up her spine at her name coming from his lips.

"Do you have a home to go back to?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sesshomaru recognized something was wrong when the girl, Kagome, stiffened. He suspected it was a sore subject but he needed information because as it was, he knew nothing about her. Except for her name. So he calmly waited for her to speak. The fact that she bowed her head, didn't escape his notice. Her eyes, the heart of her emotions, was blocked from him. She was trying to hide.

"No."

The word was whispered so low and soft he actually had to lean forward to catch it. The sorrow contained in that one word spoke volumes. He didn't need to hear it from her to know that something tragic had happened. To her and to her family. He was known for his ruthlessness but right then sympathy coursed through him. Because once upon a blue moon that same sorrow had tainted his voice. But that was a time he'd rather not revisit, so he spoke.

"Hn. Are you skilled in the art of healing?"

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A/N:Mmm, thanks for reading.


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